Ran Blake: Voices

 

      Pianist Ran Blake casts a musical spell with Voices, a solo album recorded in 2023, when Blake was eighty-eight years old. Most appropriately, the release is on Tzadik Records. A tzadik is an individual who opens paths for the world. With his music, his wide-ranging collaborations, and his decades teaching at the New England Conservatory, Blake has truly opened paths for students, other musicians, and the listening public. Blake delights in the sounds of jazz, pop songs, movie themes, opera, and well, just about everything. The clarity and luminosity of his piano ruminations on these nineteen songs makes for utterly absorbing listening. Blake is still exploring favorite melodies, still learning their depths, and perhaps surprising himself as much as he surprises his listeners. Very happily recommended.     

Tzadik TZ 4062; Ran Blake (p); July 27, 2023 & December 29, 2023; Westwood, MA; If I Should Lose You/ Hallelujah, and I Love Her So/ My Name Is Mimi/ Robert Pete Blues/ Buy and Sell/ Vradiazi/ You Are My Sunshine/ Midnight March/ Silent Night/ Go Gently to the Water/ Judy/ How ‘Bout That/ La Vie en Rose/ Ain’t Misbehavin’/ Saving All My Love For You/ The Bebopper/ The Thrill is Gone/ You’ll Have to Swing It/ Vilna; 54:56. www.tzadik.com

Rich Halley 4: A Distant Land

 

     The hard-blowing tenor saxophonist Rich Halley and the expressive trombonist Michael Vlatkovich have been collaborators since the Nineties, and A Distant Land is the latest installment of new music from the Rich Halley 4. Halley and Vlatkovich are joined by bassist Andrew Jones and drummer Carson Halley. Of their eight performances, five are compositions by Halley, with the remainder noted as “spontaneous improvisation.” You’d be hard-pressed to figure out which are which by merely listening. That’s a tribute to the impressive cohesion of the quartet’s playing. Perhaps the improvisations are a trifle tentative at times, but the spark of the group mind is always readily apparent. High points include the mildly combative saxophone/trombone duet that’s the focus of the improvised title track, Halley’s brawny solo on his Subterfuge, and Vlatkovich’s casually beautiful a capella opening to South of South, which turns into a high-life influenced delight. Throughout the set, the dynamic and responsive team of Jones and Carson Halley is impressive as they keep things moving. If you haven’t yet investigated the extensive discography of this Portland, Oregon based master saxophonist, it’s never too late to start. Definitely recommended. 

Pine Eagle 017; Michael Vlatkovich (tbn) Rich Halley (ts) Andrew Jones (b) Carson Halley (d); Portland, OR, July 26-27, 2025; Mismatch/ Crossways Logic/ A Distant Land/ Message From Maputo/ The Edge of Surprise/ Subterfuge/ South of South/ Harnessing the Churn; 53:03. richhalley.com